New Player Guide
Welcome to the world of Canadian Politics. Our game is run very much like our system game, Politics UK. This is a welcoming guide to help you get settled into our game. Please read it at your leisure. This round of Politics Canada starts after the 1979 election. This is an exciting time in Canadian politics. Many of you are from Canada and know about this period, others only know about modern politics. Many of you are from the United States, the United Kingdom, or elsewhere in the world. I will therefore explain what was going on during this time period. First, some basics about the Canadian system. All the action takes place in the House of Commons. Canada also has a senate that is made up of people, appointed by the Prime Minister, who sit until retirement at age 75. It is made up mostly of partisan hacks and attempts to reform the senate, all unsuccessful, have been made since confederation. The House of Commons (also called the house) is made up of around 280 members elected in single-member districts from across the country. The house operates much like the house does in the UK, and USA with one major exception. Party lines in Canada are the strictest in the world. Even in communist countries there is more leeway, and this is not a joke. In Canada you follow the party line, do not expect to be able to hold UK-style backbench rebellions, or US-style reaching across the aisle. Canada, especially during this time period, is very regionalized. The 4 regions of Canada are as follows. Ontario. This is the province of Ontario. Ontario is where almost 40% of Canadians live. Ontario views itself as Canada and the other provinces as just extensions of Ontario. The Ontario culture is the Canadian culture, at least according to those in Ontario. Ontario is always willing to bend over backwards to keep the country together. Quebec. This is the province of Quebec. Around 25% of Canadians live in Quebec. Quebec has a French culture and is dominated by the French language. This is in contrast to the rest of Canada which is almost exclusively English. Due to this language divide, Quebec often views itself different. To Quebec, there are two Canadas, and English Canada and a French Canada. The founding of Canada was the unifying of these two Canadas into one, at least that’s how Quebec sees things. Much attention has been paid to Quebec in the late 1970's. Following the success of the separatist Parti Quebecois in forming a majority government in a problem, a referendum on separation has been planned for the early 1980’s. Popular opinion is swinging, with a slowing Canadian economy, many Quebecouis want out while they have the chance. Quebec is the center of political debate. The West. This is the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Around 1/5th of Canadians live in the west. The west has begun to feel alienated, and feels as though it’s ruled like a colony by those in “Central Canada” IE Ontario and Quebec. The West looks at Canada and sees a nation with 10 provinces, 4 of them being in Western Canada. They look and see a Senate that is made up of partisan hacks, with 24 senators from each region, this means that the 4 western provinces have less than 25% of the seats. The west is frustrated at the attention being paid to Quebec while they see themselves as finally "coming of age" due to the economic growth of the region compared to the rest of Canada. Atlantic Canada This is the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. Atlantic Canada has less than 10% of the Canadian population. This is also the poorest region of Canada. People in the Atlantic tend to be very traditional, and do not like to rock the boat. So-called ‘protest parties’ do very poorly here, and voters in this area prefer to think of politics in terms of “team red” and “team blue”, not Liberal and Tory. Strong political ideologies does not sell well here, and calls to cut government funding, especially on social programs, sells even worse. There are four political parties in the House of Commons Progressive Conservative Party First is the government: the Progressive Conservative Party, or the "Tories". The PC Party uses Blue as their official colour. The PC Party at this time is a very factional party. The party is a coalition of three main voting groups: Western social-conservatives and populists, also called "Blue Tories"; Ontario-based "business conservatives"; and so-called “Red Tories” who are social moderates and centrists who tend to lean to the right fiscally. Historically, the party has divided from time to time on the issues. The party was called the Conservative Party until 1942 when it legally changed its name to Progressive Conservative in order to accomodate the leader of the Progressive Party. In the 1800s, some candidates ran as Liberal-Conservatives. During the depression, a "Reconstruction Party" grew, created and run by former Conservative members and supporters. The party as it exists now is arguably the most stable it ever has been. The biggest "argument" in the party right now is whether an English leader from English Canada could ever sell to Quebec, and hence, be able to crack the Liberal stronghold in that province and win a strong majority government. The PC Party is generally seen as right-wing. As a "big tent" party, it fits in people from all right-wing viewpoints. The PC Party can be best compared to the British Conservative Party, and the US Republican Party if it included so-called "Blue Dog" Democrats. In government, the party tends to govern from the right, and is seen as fairly conservative on some issues and moderate on others. In recent history, the party's moderate "Red Tory" wing has run the show. Liberal Party The Official Opposition is the Liberal Party, or the "Grits". The Liberals use Red as their official colour. Forming the government for the period from 1962 to 1979, the Liberals were soundly tossed from office upon the election of the Progressive Conservative's. Longtime leader, Pierre Trudeau, has announced he plans to retire from politics. The Liberals have a political base of support in Quebec, with more than half of their caucus coming from that province. Despite the strong showing, many in Quebec do not like the party but fail to see a reasonable alternative. The modern party has been shaped by Trudeau, who moved the party clearly to the left. There remains a large number of people in the party who desire a strong move back to the centre, but they have yet to cause any agitation. The Liberal Party is generally seen as centre-left. As the largest of the "big tent" parties, the Liberals include members who would be seen as right-wing, members who are in the middle, and members who are on the left. Much like the US Democratic party, or the UK's Liberal Democrats if it included the "3rd way" Labour members, the Liberals span a wide range of ideology. In Opposition the party has been very moderate, but the last Prime Minister from the liberal party, Pierre Trudeau, governed as a social democrat. Exactly where the Liberal party is remains vague, as the party tends to prefer governing by consensus rather than by specific ideology. New Democratic Party The third party is the New Democratic Party, or NDP. The NDP uses Orange. The NDP is Canada’s unofficial Labour party. Labour has a guaranteed vote at leadership elections and party conventions. The NDP is almost like a helium balloon that has become stuck on the ceiling. While it keeps reaching higher and higher, it never gets anywhere. This has caused ever-increasing friction between the two main wings of the party. One wing is based in Western Canada. It is not afraid to identify as Socialist, it sits clearly on the left and thinks the party is too moderate and too like the Liberals to succeed. The other wing is based in Ontario. It is made up of moderate social democrats, and those who are pro-labour and in trade unions. They feel the party has been held down by what they consider "extremist" policies, and wants to move the party closer to the political centre. The NDP is the party of the left. Social Democratic and Socialist, the NDP is Canada's pro-labour party. Organized Labour has a guaranteed vote at party conventions. The NDP is best compared to Labour before Tony Blair, and US Democrats such as Howard Dean and Ted Kennedy. The NDP is clearly seen as a "Progressive" Party. Social Credit Fourth in seats is Social Credit. They are not a playable party. The party has two wings. The western wing is a very conservative party that has strong socially conservative views. They are extremely weak and their candidates rarely top 2% in their ridings. The Quebec wing holds all the elected members. They are very conservative in all ways, as well as hold increasingly strong Quebec nationalist views. In the last election they received tacit support from the Separatist Parti Quebecois. Both wings are united by a positive view of social credit economic theory. See Also Riding List